


The Best Form of Entertainment

by endlesstalesofwonder



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Coffee Shop, Flirting, Human AU, M/M, Pick Up Lines, cheesy pick up lines, coffee shop AU, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 09:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15531705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlesstalesofwonder/pseuds/endlesstalesofwonder
Summary: Magnus Bane hates the end of the month. The coffee shop is nothing but a drab - except for Alexander, his favorite customer, who is always there to liven the mood.





	The Best Form of Entertainment

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings! Here's another little drabble from a prompt I found over on Pinterest regarding Coffee Shop AUs. I thought it'd fit them perfectly.

Magnus liked his job working at  _ Cafe Craze  _ but it wasn’t like he loved it. Making the people smile with the delicate designs he makes on the top of their drinks ranked at the top of things he enjoyed doing simply because he could. In his mind, Magnus was the one between the people and their chance for a more awake, and more manageable day.

The downside was that there was always something weird with the end of every month. The crowds that usually swamped the counter and lounge were gone - along with any sense of warmth or white noise - however, there was Alexander. Alexander was always at the shop, a laptop and steady appetite for caffeine in hand.

The door chimed with his arrival and Magnus turned towards the crisp bells. Alexander’s tall and broad shape filled the space of the doorway, demanding he crouch down slightly to get through without incident. His dark palette gave him away as it normally did. Magnus had given him plenty of morning lectures about expanding the colors in his closet. Today’s outfit included a fitted black long-sleeve shirt that hugged every dip, curve, and turn of his torso. He’d decided to match it with an equally dark pair of jeans that emphasized his long legs.

“Morning, Magnus.”

“Good morning, Alexander.” Magnus smiled, standing up straight. He pivoted towards the large coffee bar installed snug against the wall. “The usual?”

“Yes, please,” the man said, voice growing distance as he no doubt took his usual seat beside the large window that faced the street.

“Anything for my only customer.”

A chair screeched across the floor. “Bad day?”

“Just slow,” he corrected. Magnus poured a quick splash of milk into the mug. He never understood why Alexander would want something as bitter as black coffee, so he’d taken it upon himself to adulterate it every chance he got since his first arrival. There have been no complaints so far. He carried the drink to his single-seater table. “But if it gives me some alone time with you, I’m all for it.”

“Sure, Magnus,” Alexander hummed, lacking any edge to stroke Magnus’ ego, and turned to open his computer. When the machine powered on and glowed its soft hue, Magnus knew the man was lost to whatever project he was currently working on.

Magnus returned to the counter, pouting the entire walk there. He busied himself with getting mindless tasks done; washing used cups and utensils, wiping down the counters and shelves, and restocking the bean supply. The clock barely broke noon and he was already done with his mental list far sooner than he hoped.

He took a seat at the bar facing the counter, chin in palm as he recalled what he could do to pass the time. Alexander, as it would seem, would be his only customer for the day. Magnus sprung from his seat and, consequently, fell from the high chair. Alec perked up at the sound and Magnus muttered an apology before getting back into his station, brewing another cup for the man.

He’d be damned, he thought, if he wasted another minute not talking to the only handsome man in the entire store.

When he approached to refill Alexander’s cup, Magnus almost lost control. There was something about being in such close proximity to the man that made all thoughts and prior commitments fly out the door and take a quick trip to the border. Amidst thinking, Magnus poured too much coffee, the dark brown liquid splashing over the edge of the ceramic and onto the table, then the floor. Both men lunged to clean the mess - Alec towards his computer and Magnus to the coffee. Cheeks burning, Magnus’ bravado depleted and he retreated to the counter to regroup.

“Alexander,” Magnus whined, body lounged horizontal across four adjoined countertop chairs. He kept an arm dangling towards the floor. “Alexander. Alexan -”

Alec never broke eye contact with the screen, face flat. “Yes, Magnus?”

“I’m bored.”

Alec’s eyes flickered upwards. The brilliant rings of hazel scanned him before returning to the light. “I’m sure you can find something to entertain yourself.”

The last time Magnus lost interest in something - fortunately, it had not been in the cafe - he dyed his hair red, threw out half his closet, and lost an entire couch. He still had no clue where the piece of furniture was. He hoped Alec would at least try and play along for his own amusement. It only meant that Magnus would have to take things into his own hands for “entertaining himself”.

“Alexander?” Magnus sat up, his head dizzy from sitting in the position for so long.

“Yes, Magnus.”

“Did it hurt?” Alec looked up again, eyebrow raised. “When you fell from heaven?”

Another retreat to the screen. “Nice try.”

Magnus slid back down into the chair. He drew his hands together, touching them to the bow of his lip, wondering. “Well you know what they say,” he muttered to himself. “ _ If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. _ ”

His first attempt a failure for a response, Magnus changed tactics. He slid past Alec’s table on a rolling chair - that had been stored away in the back office for this exact reason - and parked himself beside him. “I seem to have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?”

Nothing. Alec didn’t so much as crack under the pressure of Magnus’ presence. His fingers danced away at the keyboard, leaving Magnus lost as to whatever could be holding his attention so determinably. He pursed his lips, backpedalling slowly into the office while the tiny wheels squeaked the entire way.

As he grabbed another brewed portion of coffee, Magnus purposefully passed the table. “Do you believe in love at first sight,” he chimed, then backed up slowly, “or should I pass by again?”

Alec’s fingers faltered, the mistake brief. He hit the backspace key with more than enough force, starting whatever he was writing over again. Magnus filled his cup up to the brim and left, muttering the entire way to the stock room.

Magnus stayed behind the counter this time, speaking clear and concise so the man could hear him. “There must be something wrong with my eyes.” Magnus perched his chin on his hand. “I can’t seem to take them off you.”

Alec sighed. It was the first sign of movement since Magnus started, and therefore the first sign of luck in his attempts to converse with the man. He looked up, gave him a quick once over - Magnus noticed how slow he dragged them over his body - and returned to his work with his lips pulled into a tight line.

“You’re hot,” Magnus blurted at four. An entire day was wasted with pick-up lines and witty jokes, and Magnus eventually got the hint - being coy was not Alec’s style of talking.

Alexander peered over the rim of his cup, slowly drawing in gulps of coffee. Magnus was hypnotized from the movements in his throat. “That’s what you’ve resulted to?”

Magnus shrugged. “I’m pulling out all my best moves. You could at least act as sexy as you are.”

“You’re insatiable,” Alec said with a roll of his eyes.

“Why, thank you, darling.”

Alec shook his head. There was a crack on his face, finally. The corner of his lip wobbled slightly, wanting to be pulled upward but instead forced downwards in perfect control. Almost perfect.

“You’re smiling.”

Alec refused to meet his eyes. “I am not.”

Magnus made his way over, crossing the room in a few strides. He pulled up a chair and stayed there, breathing somewhat evenly, until Alec eventually paid him attention.

“You are. I can see it.” Magnus gestured to the corner of the lip that was in question, his hand easily caught with Alec’s massive warm one.

Alec licked his lips, eyes dancing around his face until they settled on Magnus’ eyes with a hot ferocity that battled the temperatures of coffee and hellfire. “You’re a menace.”

Magnus gulped. “I’m told it’s one of my finer qualities.”

Alec released his hand. The warmth was replaced with a sudden coldness that Magnus wasn’t entirely ready for. He lowered his gaze to his hands and then the computer screen.

“What are you working on?”

Alexander’s eyes never left his. He hesitated before turning the screen in Magnus’ direction. His eyes skimmed quickly, passing over references to literature and authors that Magnus had never heard of. The paragraph broke off suddenly, replaced by staggered sentences and blurbs that had his name in it.

_ Magnus is trying to get my attention. It’s not going to work. _

_ It’s working. _

_ He’s made himself comfortable at the counter. The chairs are not  _ that  _ comfortable to lay on. _

_ They’re awful pick-up lines. _

_ Really bad. _

“If you wanted to drive me crazy, you didn’t need to use your atrocious pick-up lines,” Alec said as he read.

“If you hated my lines, you should’ve said so,” Magnus huffed, sitting back in the chair. He froze, the words settling in the pit of his chest that made his heart erratic and stomach flip. “Wait.”

Alec’s face broke into a wide smile. Magnus was stunned by the image of him. “Catching on, are you?”

“Really?” Magnus’ voice cracked slightly.

Alec nodded. “Yes.”

“How -” Magnus shook his head, correcting himself, “How long?”

“Since you started putting milk in my coffee,” Alec muttered, taking a long - and unnecessarily loud - drag of coffee.

Magnus gawked, swatting him once - hard - on his arm. The coffee splashed in the confines of the cup, threatening to spill, but stayed safely where it was. He shrieked, practically yelling that it had taken the man long enough to say  _ something,  _ barely letting any room for Alec to speak. They bantered under the falling shades of the sun until the darkness laid steady over the city, and the pair closed up shop together - as it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> For more drabbles and writing tips, follow me on tumblr: endlesstalesofwonder


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